Dear daddy
by Schwerelos
Summary: Four 'father's days' in the lives of Apollo and Trucy. Spoilers for all of Apollo Justice.


A/N: Spoilers for all of Apollo Justice. Using 'Dmitri' as Apollo's father's name for practicality. (This is fanon, of course.)

* * *

_.Apollo_

Thalassa's smile was as bright as the sun that day. Baby Apollo was crawling around towards his father, trying to get his attention. It didn't take long before Dmitri noticed him and held him in his arms.

- My precious baby boy. - He said, holding him, looking at him completely fascinated. This was his child, his baby, his and Thalassa's and proof of their love and the best gift he could ever ask for from life.

Thalassa couldn't help but smile even more as she noticed her husband's smile, the way he held Apollo as if he was the most valuable and precious creature in the whole world-she couldn't argue with that notion, however. She agreed.

- Happy father's day, my love.

She approached them and embraced them both, careful not to squish tiny Apollo too much. The baby giggled, completely delighted of being the center of attention of his parents' lives in that moment, with such pure bliss that it was contagious and both Thalassa and Dmitri couldn't help but laugh as well.

It was the best of days indeed, Dmitri thought.

_.Trucy_

It had been a pretty busy week that week and so Zak hadn't had enough time to check the current calendar nor remember the upcoming 'holidays', which served perfectly well for Trucy's purposes since she was working so hard to surprise her daddy, who always made her squeal in delight with something miraculous out of the blue. Thalassa had been helping her, of course, but no more than necessary, since Trucy had told her mother that this was something she had to do on her own. Thalassa smiled proudly at that, she was so much her father's daughter.

When the day finally arrived, Thalassa managed to convince Zak to take a day off with her, since they had both been rehearsing so much, he deserved it. Zak didn't agree completely to it at first, but he couldn't really say no to Thalassa when she smiled like that.

Trucy had been more than prepared. It wasn't a magnificent stunt, she had to admit (but it was okay since she was still learning) but she tried to make the most fabulous stunt she could get-and she achieved it. Her father's smile was huge by the end of her act, his eyes filled with pride for this remarkable lady he could call his own.

- Did y'like it, daddy? - She managed to ask in between squishes.

- Did I like it, Trucy doll? I think it was the most amazing trick I have ever seen.

- Oh, daddy, you're exaggerating!

But she felt extremely delighted. And extremely proud.

_.Trucy_

When father's day came that year, Phoenix hadn't been living with Trucy for much long. It had only been a couple of months, he thought. Of course, all things considered, it definitely seemed much longer to him, what with everything both him and Trucy had had to fix in their lives. It had been rough, but they were managing. Somehow. Together.

He wasn't still sure if he could consider Trucy something like his daughter-he wondered if he had the right to. He was already very fond of her and he wouldn't dare ever leave her for anything in the world, but it had only been a couple of months and, who knows? Maybe her father could suddenly come back and claim her and take her away with him.

Nick didn't think he could deal with that.

So when father's day came, he didn't even dare mention it. He noticed Trucy a tad more melancholic than other days, even if only when she was by her own. (She would never be anything but enthusiastic around 'daddy'. It could lead up to him getting all sad and down again, and she would have none of that!) He wanted to ask, he wanted to do something for her, but he knew it was not his place. It's not like he wanted to replace her actual father but he was feeling conflicted already. He wanted her to feel safe. To feel okay. To never ever feel sad anymore.

Trucy had been thinking. And thinking. And thinking. She remembered all those other father's days from what somehow felt so many years ago, she remember her father's smile whenever she showed him her new, special trick, just for him. She missed him. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to have both her mother and father back and return to those days when they were together.

She wasn't actually sad, she told herself. She liked daddy Nick. She liked his goofy smile and his honest eyes and the way he held her late at night when some of her nightmares refused to go away. She thought about mom and dad and then she realized that she didn't want to leave her new daddy either.

It was much too complicated for an eight year old.

But in many ways, it was not. So when father's day finally came that year, Trucy woke up very early and made breakfast (trying not to burn anything) and she went and woke up daddy and then she squeezed him. Hard. She didn't want to let go. She didn't want to let go ever again.

Phoenix felt quite surprised. And quite happy. Happier than he ever thought he would feel after losing his badge and seeing all his life slip away and being turned upside down. But then he held Trucy, kissed her forehead and wiped those couple of tears that were blurring her lovely eyes and realized that this was even better than all of what he had lost.

It was then that Nick couldn't help but think of Trucy as his daughter. His and his alone.

- Thank you so much, Truce, this was lovely. - He said after he finished eating his breakfast, having shared most of it with her, of course.

- I'm glad you like it, daddy! - She smiled. - So what do you want to do today? It's your day after all!

- You know what, Truce? - He hugged her tight once again - Let's go to the park and hang around and count all the different colors we can see. And then, let's come home and eat nothing but pancakes.

- Oh daddy, that is the best idea ever!

- Isn't it just? So let's go!

_.Apollo and Trucy_

It had definitely been a while since Apollo had finally ended up moving with the Wrights. Trucy had said it made more sense, since they spent most of their time together, after all. Plus, he was family! He wasn't sure what to answer to that, especially since he clearly felt something similar towards them as well-not that he would admit it out loud or anything.

So when Trucy dragged him one day and told him about her marvelous plan to surprise daddy he wasn't quite sure if he ought to participate in that. Surely he could help, but Mr. Wright was Trucy's father, not his own.

Trucy ignored all of that when Apollo tried to be reasonable with her. He wasn't actually surprised, since she barely listened to him most of the time. It wouldn't hurt, he thought. Plus, even if Mr. Wright was sort of a (very) cryptic jerk every now and then, he had helped him a lot and he was still (sort of) his hero.

He refused to wear a magician's outfit anyway.

It all led down to Polly being almost cut in half, burnt to a crisp and nearly dying by suffocation ('It's because you refused to rehearse!' Trucy would refute to his following complaints) but he had to admit it had been sort of fun. Clearly, his sanity and logic had been compromised due to spending so much time with the Wrights, but. It was true. He almost (_almost_) didn't mind. Especially not when Mr. Wright looked so happy and delighted after the presentation. He walked up to both of them and first lifted Trucy upwards, twirling her around and then he smiled at Apollo and hugged him. And then Trucy joined. And Apollo felt like all of that had been worth it. And he felt almost as if he belonged. As if he had found a family after all.

He had to admit, he felt happy.


End file.
